A Sooner Connection

Sooner Born, Sooner Bred.

It's the motto used to describe those who were born and raised in the state of Oklahoma and spent their lives dedicated to the Crimson and Cream.

Emma Ledbetter tore each of her ACLs in 2014.

Sophomore Emma Ledbetter lives by that motto. Born and raised in Edmond, Okla., she never considered going anywhere but OU. As a two-sport athlete growing up, playing both basketball and soccer, she dreamed of one day suiting up for the Sooners and taking her athletic career to the next level.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I just knew I wanted to be a Sooner,” Emma said. “All my family are Sooner fans and it's just being so close to here, my family can come support and I can still watch my sisters grow up and stuff like that, so I always knew I wanted to come here.”

But back-to-back ACL tears in her prime recruiting years seemed to derail that goal. With little chance to play in her first two years of high school, suddenly her dream of heading to OU seemed out of reach.

Enter OU head women's basketball coach Sherri Coale.

Coale wasn't reaching out in a recruiting manner as she knew Emma was focused on playing soccer for the Sooners. Instead, she was reaching out to help a former student athlete of hers: Emma's mom, Kara.

BOND BUILT OVER TIME

In 1987, Coale was coaching at Edmond Memorial High School. An assistant at the time, she took Kara Ledbetter (nee Kessler) under her wing, forging a bond that wouldn't be broken for the next 30 years.

“Well, Kara was really what I would call my first 'kid'”, Coale shared. “As a coach, when you start in this business, you'll find that one kid that really listens to you, or that you really invest in. She wanted to do something impactful and just couldn't quite figure out the road to make that happen, and of course she was never able to articulate that as a high school sophomore, but you could tell there was something about her that was really about striving and about achievement and she became my focus.”

“Coach Coale is someone who will hold you accountable, but she gives you so much confidence and she really teaches you how to believe in yourself,” Kara shared. “She makes you think that you can really do anything. She was hard on us, real hard on us. She never let anything slide. But I think that is what I needed when I was in high school, so I craved that. Every time she spoke, I hung onto every word that she said.”

Kara Ledbetter was one of Sherri Coale's first athletes as an assistant coach at Edmond Memorial High School.

Coale wasn't just a mentor in the gym for Kara. She would often help academically, tutoring Kara in geometry at her house. Coale's constant help and encouragement led Kara to become an English teacher just like her mentor.

“She helped me not just with basketball, but just regular life skills,” Kara said. “She helped me academically. I am an English teacher, so math is not my thing. She went way above and beyond what a regular coach would do. “When I was in high school I did not really care about school, I cared more about sports. She really got me to understand the value of an education. So, I ended up becoming an English teacher just like her.”

Despite Coale's departure before Kara's senior season of high school, the pair remained in touch over the years. Growing up, Emma heard many stories of Coale and how much she meant to her mom.

“She always said that she was very strict, got on my mom,” Emma shared. “They had a good relationship, a good bond, so she knew when Coach Coale was mad at her that she could pull through and get going. She needed that tough love almost, but Sherri also knew how to build relationships and just had a great relationship with my mom.”

“She just loves her to death,” Emma said of her mom's relationship with Coale. “She talks so highly of her, and she is just such an inspiring woman. Oh, my mom just loves her and idolizes her.”

AN UNLIKELY INSPIRATION

Though Emma knew of the impact Coale had had on her mom's life, it wasn't until her sophomore year of high school that Coale made an impact on her life.

In January of 2014 during a basketball game, Emma tore her ACL. Seven months later and just one month into her return to sports, she suffered a tear in her other ACL.

“It was brutal,” Kara said. “She worked so hard to get back the first time, then the second time she was just like 'I don't think I am going to be able to play in college. Does anyone really play in college after two torn ACLs, especially after recruiting is basically done after your sophomore year?'”

“I've always really wanted to play soccer at Oklahoma,” Emma said. “Whenever I tore my ACLs, it was kind of a turning point because I had been out for a year. It was pretty difficult being out when they really recruit.”

Emma Ledbetter and former Sooner Maddie Manning share a bond of tearing both ACLs back-to-back.

Coale was no stranger to an athlete tearing their ACLs in back-to-back years. At the time, Maddie Manning, a redshirt-sophomore on Coale's OU squad, was returning to action after spending the previous two seasons rehabbing consecutive ACL tears.

Not knowing about Manning, Kara reached out to Coale to inform her about Emma's injuries and to seek any advice she may have. That was when Coale invited Emma to come and speak with Maddie to see if she could be a source of inspiration.

“They came down and Maddie spent some time with Emma which I so appreciate,” Coale said. “I think the two of them, as much as anything, you just sit in a room with someone who has been in the position you are in and there is just a connection that none of the rest of us that are sitting around could understand.”

The pair shared their stories and Emma left the meeting with a new sense of purpose. Manning left her with advice on how to get through the rehab, how to still have hope and to work hard and push through.

“Maddie had been in a kind of similar situation with her ACL's and everything and so that kind of just gave me hope to keep going, keep following my dreams, and come to OU and be here and get it done,” Emma said.

FINALLY A SOONER

On Aug. 27, 2017, Emma took the field for the first time as a Sooner. Though she only played 16 minutes in her first appearance, by the end the season she had started 17 of 20 games. This season, Emma has started all five games and at every home game her family is in the stands supporting and cheering her on.

Emma Ledbetter has started all five games this season and 22 of 25 in her OU career.

“Oh, it's awesome,” Emma said. “My parents love it. My mom still cries sometimes and she's like 'Oh, you're here' and my dad is like one of my biggest supporters along with my mom. They are my number one fans and I'm theirs. Especially my sister is coming too and my extended family just love being here in this atmosphere and supporting me and I love having them.”

“It is unbelievable,” Kara shares. “I can't even believe it. When I see her on the field, and she is doing so well, and just a few years ago she didn't even think she was going to play in college. She really is a remarkable person and player.”

As for Coale's current advice for Emma now that she has reached her dream of playing for Oklahoma?

“Trust yourself. That's how you've gotten here. That's how you've overcome all the hurdles that have been tossed your way. By trusting your gut and believing in yourself, that will never let you down.”